Experimenters asked about 150 university students to imagine that
they had won a lottery drawing and could choose one of two
chocolates as their prize.

Chocolate A, they were told, was an 0.5 oz. piece of Austrian
milk chocolate worth 50 cents, shaped like a heart. Chocolate B,
on the other hand, was a 2 oz. piece of Austrian milk chocolate
worth $2, shaped … like a disgusting cockroach.

Experimenters asked the students: Which chocolate would they
choose? And which would they feel better about eating?

As it turns out, a whopping 68% of the students opted to eat the
roach. But just 46% predicted they would feel better eating it.

Raj Raghunathan, a professor at the University of Texas McCombs
School of Business, cites this study in his new book, "If
You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy?", as an example of a
phenomenon he calls "mind addiction." It's the tendency
to ignore or underestimate the importance of gut instincts and
feelings, and it can make you a lot less happy.

Back to that chocolate study, which was conducted by Christopher
Hsee. In that case, many students downplayed the disgust they
would feel eating something that looked exactly like a bug, and
chose the "rational" option of getting more bang for their buck.

There's a chance you'd choose the job with less friendly
coworkers, because it meets more of your criteria, like high pay
and compensation.

Or you might choose the job with warmer coworkers, and tell
yourself it's because there could be more opportunities for
advancement there. You'd either be unaware that the coworkers'
friendliness influenced your decision, or unwilling to admit it.

In both the chocolate experiment and the hypothetical job
scenario, mind addiction leads to devaluing happiness.

However, Raghunathan points out that sometimes it's
better to rely on thoughtful deliberations, as opposed to
feelings. The key to making happiness-inducing decisions is
self-awareness: knowing what kind of decision you're making and
how the result will affect you.

For example, if you don't have much experience in a particular
field, it would be wise to spend a lot of time thinking about
your decision, instead of going with your gut.

You should also consider using thoughtful deliberation if you're
making a decision on behalf of a group, because it will probably
please your teammates more to know that you spent time thinking
through the potential outcomes.

Moreover, decisions that involve something with a utility
function — say, buying an apartment — should generally be the
product of thoughtful deliberation, Raghunathan says. But
decisions that involve something purely pleasurable — say, a
piece of artwork for your new apartment — should usually be made
on the basis of feelings and instincts.

If you can predict which situations call for rational
analysis and which require you to take your instincts into
account, you can alternate between the two, maximizing your
chances of long-term happiness.